I'm not an avid player of racing games, but I make an exception for Episode I Racer. The first (and until recently, last) time I played this game was back in the early 2000s, and I know this is far from a new observation, but it's worth adding one more confirmation: this game has aged incredibly well. The racetracks are excellently varied; the upgrade and damage systems are elaborate and well-executed; and the pod racers themselves have a slight learning curve, but it makes them all the more enjoyable once you figure them out (and configure the controls to a layout of your liking). Whether you played it back in the day or are just seeing it for the first time, this is a game worth picking up.
While Deadlight has its moments, they are unfortunately brought down by serious design flaws. All too often, I would end up jumping for a piece of set-dressing that looked suspiciously like a platform or tripping over an obstacle that was camouflaged into the background, and getting from one checkpoint to another is frequently hampered by dead ends and instant kills for which the player could not possibly be prepared (this is most vexing toward the end, where I was instant-killed several times by off-screen enemies who had never presented themselves). As a result, much of the game revolves around trial-and-error-ing a section until one knows where to run, jump, and aim their weapon through muscle memory rather than quick thinking. And even then, often times whole sections of the level would not load correctly and Randy would end up falling through the floor into the negative zone, requiring a restart-from-checkpoint anyway. Thankfully, the checkpoints are generally relatively close together, but that only serves to make the game less frustrating, not more fun. And even with all of these issues, the game can be completed in four hours and change.
